Chapter 6 "From Threat to Threat" Summary and Analysis

President Clinton was so concerned about al-Qaeda that he received a daily briefing on the latest intelligence on bin Laden's whereabouts. The president repeatedly spoke in public about the looming threat of terrorism and WMDs, but did not mention bin Laden or al-Qaeda by name for fear of increasing their stature. As the millennium approached, the public was still largely unaware of al-Qaeda and was focused on the potential threat posed by the "Y2K" computer problem.

In late 1999, Jordanian authorities broke up a cell with ties to al-Qaeda that was planning to attack a hotel in downtown Amman, Jordan, and several Christian holy sites. Several members of this cell were American citizens of Middle Eastern origin. One was a cab driver in Boston who regularly sent money to his fellow...